LUBBOCK — Two years ago, no one had ever heard of the potential of the Cline Shale oil play.

Now, the 140-mile-long and 70-mile-wide oil shale is anticipated to be one of the largest oil plays in American history.

Projections for the Cline Shale contribute to the expectation for the U.S. to become the world leader in oil production by 2017.

As the result of exploration by oil companies Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy, the Cline Shale is quickly emerging as the richest oil play known. Other development companies with interests include Firewheel Energy, Laredo Petroleum, Exco, and Callon Petroleum, among others.

Devon Energy President John Richels gave a “type curve” for a Cline Shale well — a guess at how much a well would produce over time.

He said he expects a total production of 570,000 barrels of oil equivalent, and 85 percent of that would be oil and liquid gas rich.

“We are very excited about the Cline,” said Andy Coolidge, Devon Energy’s vice president for the Permian Basin. “We expect to deliver highly economic and robust production growth.”

Snyder is in the Cline pocket, which includes parts of Scurry, Borden, Mitchell, Fisher, Nolan, Sterling and Glasscock counties.

“It’s like Christmas morning. We are all waiting to see how this unfolds,” said Bill Lavers, CEO of Develop Snyder.

Test wells on the Cline show the shale contains 3.6 million barrels of recoverable oil per square mile, about 300 billion barrels of recoverable oil for the entire shale.

Until recently, the Eagle Ford Shale was considered to be the richest shale play in Texas. The Eagle Ford Shale covers Webb, Dimmit, Lavaca, McMullen, Karnes, DeWitt and Gonzales counties in the southern portion of the state.

Recent advances in horizontal drilling have opened up the possibility of drilling in areas like the Cline.

The Cline’s depth is equivalent to 10 Eagle Ford Shales stacked on top of each other.

Pete Stark, an independent analyst from Englewood, Co., and regarded by the industry as an expert on global oil and gas resources, said, “We haven’t seen billion-barrel numbers onshore since Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the ’70s.”

While the buzz surrounding the Cline Shale brings excitement and economic hope, it also presents some challenges to the communities located there.

For weeks, local officials have held public meetings to discuss the effects of the increasing drilling activity.

The shortage of housing in the Cline Shale area continues to be a main concern, according to Lavers.

“Everybody in the entire area is working together more than they ever have. There are no guarantees that anything is going to happen, but when you look at all the growth that has already occurred, it is obvious that something big is going on here,” he said.

Abel Deloera, Snyder councilman and owner of Deloera Realty, said he is busier than he has ever been.

“November and December are usually really slow months in real estate,” said Deloera, “This is the busiest I have been in six years.”

Deloera, who gets 10 to 15 phone calls every day from people looking for housing, said he started trying to address the Snyder housing shortage in October 2008.

“I saw this coming, but no one would listen,” said Deloera, “now we are a good 18 months to two years behind.”

Snyder lacks between 400 and 500 housing units, according to Deloera, and there has been a major increase in land value as a result of recent activity.

“I have people literally calling in tears saying they need a place for their families to live,” he said, “and I can’t help them. From here to Midland, in the entire area, there is virtually nothing available.”

According to Lavers, 35 housing lots were developed for sale and sold within 20 days of completion to a single developer.

Another project expected to close in March, according to Deloera, will develop about 100 single-family housing units.

Deloera said that development is moving too slowly, a fact he attributes to the risk involved. “Developers will have to risk millions of dollars in anticipation of what is about to happen; people are hesitant because of the risk.”